Rosacea Caused Half by Nature, Half by Lifestyle

By
Paige Brettingen

May 18, 2017

If you’re among the 16 million Americans who suffer from rosacea—a condition characterized by patches of acne-like redness on the skin—you know all too well how frustrating it is to live with a health issue that has a mysterious cause and no set treatment. The good news is that in the ‘cause’ department, researchers are one step closer to a concrete answer.

New evidence suggests the contributors are half environmental, half genetic. "We now have strong evidence for the first time that there is clearly a genetic contribution," said lead author Dr. Daniel Popkin, an assistant professor of dermatology at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

And for the 54 percent of people with rosacea due to environmental or lifestyle factors, the upside is that there are ways to stop exacerbating it. A few suggestions: Limit your sun exposure, abstain from smoking, alcohol as well as spicy and sour foods and lower your body mass index (recent findings show that rosacea could be an indicator of high BMI and high risk of heart disease). If you have rosacea, what are some ways you manage it?